Ultrasonic testing (UT) is frequently used to perform non-destructive inspection (NDI) of a unit under test (UUT). UT is especially well-suited for inspecting for discontinuities in a material, such as delaminations or disbanding in composite materials. To perform such inspections, currently an operator must hold a UT transducer in place against a surface of a UUT.
The operator can monitor one location at a time, and may not be able to locate a UT transducer with desired accuracy or repeatability. An operator may not be able to obtain or maintain desired ultrasonic coupling of a UT transducer with the UUT. Further, for personnel safety purposes an operator must wait until a UUT is no longer under load to perform UT inspection, thereby precluding real-time UT of a UUT that is under load. Thus, improvements in UT may be possible regarding time reductions, accuracy, repeatability, and obtaining real-time data of a UUT under load.
The foregoing examples of related art and limitations associated therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.